In a sport that, more than any other in the U.S., doubles as religion, no other figure has shaped American football more completely than John Madden, who died on Dec. 28, at 85.
“He was football,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in a statement that contained no empty platitudes or hyperbole, but only truth.
As a coach, Madden—who led the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978—won a Super Bowl and holds the highest winning percentage (at 75.9%) for an NFL coach with a minimum of 10 years on the sideline. As a video-game impresario, he connected new generations to football: his Madden NFL series, which debuted in 1988, has exceeded $4 billion in sales. And as a commentator, he explained the game to millions of viewers, while his own…
